The new guy comes through. Takeaways from the Hornets’ win over Detroit
Plenty of people are thrilled Montrezl Harrell is now a member of the Charlotte Hornets.
No one may be more ecstatic than Terry Rozier. He wasn’t exactly doing cartwheels inside the visitor’s locker room at Little Caesars Arena, but there was some definite pep in his step against Detroit. Rozier has his old Louisville teammate back and he was as enthused as anyone when he first heard the news Harrell was traded to Charlotte.
”S---, I was happy,” Rozier told The Observer. “That’s my guy. We played two years together in college, always been keeping in contact. So we had kind of talked about it a year or two ago. But we are just happy to finally make that push and go grab him.”
Harrell could have waited until Saturday night to make his debut, giving himself more time to collect his thoughts and prepare to get assimilated into his new environment. But he didn’t want to feel powerless and opted to take a commercial flight. The Hornets are probably glad he did. Harrell wasn’t overly affected by having to fold himself up into a pretzel in a standard-sized airplane seat, coming off the bench effectively to the tune of 15 points and six rebounds in the Hornets’ 141-119 pasting of the Pistons on Friday night that snapped a six-game losing skid.
“Last minute, so the seats were kind of cramped up,” Harrell said. “I didn’t think that many people would be coming out to Detroit today. It was cool. I kind of told them I was kind of ready to do anything to just get with the team, just be able to get out here and get on the floor with them.”
His energy was evident early and perhaps spurred Rozier to post his second career triple-double with 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Harrell totaled 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in his initial nine minutes on the floor. On his first possession in the game, he blocked Killian Hayes’ shot. Undoubtedly, Harrell was primed from the moment he slipped on his uniform.
“I like to play,” Harrell said. “I like to be around this game. I’m blessed to play this sport and be able to call it my job. So why miss the opportunity to be able to get out here and get acclimated with my team? Honestly, this is about not letting another one slip out of our hands. It’s about coming out here and trying to do anything to get the team a win.
“The team is on an even-keel right now, right at .500. Some teams are kind of packing it in waiting for the All-Star break. This is the time we can sneak and get four wins or put ourselves in a different spot than we are right now fighting for the playoffs.”
That kind of mentality has rapidly endeared him to his new teammates.
“I love ‘Trez already,” LaMelo Ball said. “That’s definitely a glue guy. I’ve been seeing him since I was a kid. He just brings a whole lot of effort, keeps people locked in. You want to play defense with him, so he’s a great player.”
Here are some of the main takeaways from the Hornets’ first win in exactly two weeks:
LAMELO LIGHTS IT UP
When LaMelo Ball is draining his shots from beyond the 3-point arc, it makes him that much tougher to contend with. The Pistons found that out the hard way, leaving him open all night. That allowed Ball to gain confidence and he was unconscious from 3-point land.
He knocked down seven 3-pointers, which marked the second straight game with at least five makes from long distance. It’s the first time that has happened in Ball’s young career. He was especially on point in the Hornets’ 32-point second quarter, accounting for 64.5 percent of their points in the third quarter with an 11-point, four-assist effort to go along with the nine points he created off his assists.
Ball totaled 31 points to go with 12 assists and five rebounds.
“Just shooting it for real,” he said. “Following the fundamentals. Snap the wrist, follow through. That’s pretty much it. Leave the rest to God. That’s all.”
THAT’S OFFENSIVE
So much for those scoring issues the Hornets had been having lately. There was no such problem against the Pistons, a team the Hornets have now beaten 16 straight times.
The 79 first-half points established new a franchise record for most in the opening half, breaking the previous record of 77 set against Washington in 2018. That massive stockpile was the second most they’ve scored in any half in franchise history, trailing only the 87 points they put up in the second half of their win in Indiana last month.
A 43-point outburst in the second quarter fueled the Hornets’ high-octane first half.
“It was huge for us,” coach James Borrego said. “The ball moved just as well in the last six games. The profile was there, the kick outs were there, the shot selection was there. Sometimes you’ve just got to see the ball go through the net. But I think our aggressiveness started at the rim tonight. We were getting downhill, we were getting to the rim, putting pressure on the rim. And that got us going and we started to kick out for some threes.
“So for us it’s got to start inside-out with a attack mentality. Our guys did a great job of finishing, but also kicking out at the appropriate time. The overall ball movement, joy on the offensive end was the key tonight.”
He’ll get no argument from Ball.
“Just moving the ball,” he said. “Everybody taking good shots, great shots, getting out running, hitting the pocket.. Everybody was moving the ball I feel like tonight.”
MUSICAL CHAIRS
Following a two-game absence due to a sprained right wrist and coming on the heels of his incident with Borrego, the Hornets’ first-round pick found himself back in the lineup. Bouknight struggled to find his rhythm, connecting on just 3-of-11 attempts. But he’s likely going to be a part of the rotation moving forward and serve as the backup shooting guard.
“Just another ball-handling point guard that we need right now,” Borrego said. “That group’s going to be with Terry (Rozier) primarily handling the ball. He’s the point guard in the second unit and we’ll figure it out. Primarily right now, Terry is the backup one.
“So it’s a new unit, it’s a new rotation. But it’s a lot of excitement.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 10:00 PM.
